The present invention relates to painting, and more particularly to an apparatus for cleaning paint from a paint roller.
Paint trays in which a roller brush or a regular paint brush can be confined and subjected to a force-fed stream of water or a special cleaning solution to clean the brush for subsequent handling and use are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,732,593 and 3,837,035 disclose paint tray assemblies in which a paint roller can be held so that a stream of water from a garden hose can be directed thereon to clean the paint roller. The structures shown in these patents require the use of a separate garden hose and nozzle which must be manually directed at the paint roller to clean the paint therefrom. Further, each of the assemblies shown in these patents requires a discharge port from which water and dissolved paint drains. Such a discharge port can easily become clogged causing the water and paint mixture to back-up in the tray, thereby creating a messy situation. Still further, the assemblies shown in the mentioned patents cause water from the garden hose to be directed at the bottom of the paint roller to be cleaned, thereby reducing the effectiveness of water which sprays off of the rotating roller to clean the inside of the paint tray assembly. In addition, the patented structures use paint tray lids which slide onto the tray. The slide channels and tracks on which the lid slides are likely to become covered with paint, making it difficult, if not impossible, to slide the lid onto the tray.
Other attempts to provide a paint roller cleaning apparatus are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,938,368, 3,133,548, and 4,108,189 in which a water spray is fanned from a point source which is centered along the length of the roller; U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,190 in which a pull cord is provided to spin a paint roller; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,154 which provides a crank assembly for spinning a paint roller.
Means for clamping a paint tray to a ladder are also well known. Examples of such clamps are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,694,825; 3,822,846; 2,659,917; 2,759,620; 4,094,431; 4,164,803; 4,199,836; and 4,205,411. None of the structures shown in these patents, however, provides a leg on the paint tray having a generally U-shaped channel with a spring loaded finger extending therein for securely clamping to a ladder step. Nor, do the prior patents show such a clamp with a plurality of notches into which the free end of the spring loaded finger can be inserted to adjustably lock the clamp against the ladder step. Still further, the prior patents do not teach the use of burrs projecting from the spring loaded finger and/or the paint tray leg for biting into a ladder step.
Paint trays which include means for mounting the tray to a wall when not in use are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,025,205; 3,947,135; and 3,591,299. None of the structures shown in these patents utilize paint tray legs as members for mounting the paint tray to a wall.
It would be advantageous to provide a paint roller cleaning apparatus which is self-contained, easy to use without making a mess, and which cleans the paint roller and tray in a manner far superior to prior art structures. Such a paint roller cleaning apparatus should provide a means for fastening a handle-equipped frame-supported paint roller in a lid and in proper position to be cleaned by a water spray impinging thereon and evenly thereacross from the top of the lid in which the roller is mounted. The roller should be spaced from the lid so that it is free to rotate at a high rate of speed in response to the spray of water. Further, the rotation of the paint roller should be such that it throws water therefrom, by centrifugal force, to adequately clean the lid and a paint tray to which the lid is attached, along with the roller frame and handle at the same time the roller is being cleaned.
It would be further advantageous to provide the paint roller cleaning apparatus with at least one orifice aimed to direct water at the end of a paint roller to clean the bearing on which the paint roller rotates.
It would also be advantageous for the self contained unit forming the paint tray lid to include a channel formed therein to accommodate and store the hose which supplies water to the apparatus. The provision of a universal tap connecter coupled to the hose would be helpful to enable the hose to be connected to virtually any type of water faucet.
Also advantageous would be the provision of a plurality of ridges extending from the paint tray lid to raise the lid above the floor of a sink to improve water drainage from the apparatus when in use.
When in use during painting, the paint tray used with the paint roller cleaning apparatus should provide means for clamping the tray to a ladder step. The clamping means should be easy to use and strong enough to support the tray to insure against accidental paint spills. The same clamping means should be useful in mounting the apparatus to a wall when not in use.
It would be further advantageous to mold the paint tray lid from plastic in one piece.
The present invention relates to such an apparatus for use in painting and in cleaning paint rollers.